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Fortunes at her fingertips

Sophomore Carolyn Allen, a varsity player since seventh grade, is a key setter for Seven Rivers.

By BRIAN SUMERS
Published September 26, 2006

LECANTO - Her fingernails shine in the gymnasium light, their hot pink color grabbing the attention of bystanders.

Carolyn Allen, who dons these nifty nails, claims the manufacturer calls the shade "So Cool."

Really. That's the name of the nail polish.

The hue makes the Seven Rivers Christian sophomore look stylish, but it also - unexpectedly - helps her volleyball game. It seems the colored nails make it easier to see the ball make contact with her fingers, a trick she learned earlier this season.

So the nails will stay painted, though there is a small chance they could change colors. They were blue earlier this season.

"Pink is definitely my favorite color," said Allen, 15.

Still, Allen was doing just fine before she learned the nail trick. She has played varsity volleyball since seventh grade, when she played sparingly on a team dominated by high schoolers

By the next season, however, Allen was a star. Still is, in fact.

"She's having some monster nights setting the ball for us," said Tim Bowman, the Warriors coach.

Allen comes from a family of athletes, so her talent is no surprise. Her brother, Shawn, just finished a four-year track career at Florida State. Her father, Denny, lettered in five sports at Crystal River and has a plaque in the school's athletic hall of fame.

Family vacations consisted of trips to Atlanta to watch the Braves play and Tallahassee to see Florida State football games.

No one likes the Seminoles more than Allen. And in three years, Allen expects to attend Florida State, just like her brother.

She knows the admissions committee will have the final say, but Allen has been preparing for Tallahassee for years. Most days at practice, she wears Florida State gear, which can get difficult in Gators country.

"I have to represent FSU," she said.

Allen expects she'll complete her volleyball career after high school, so she knows she must qualify academically for the Florida State. But that shouldn't be difficult considering she is one of the best all-around students at Seven Rivers.

Her favorite subject is algebra, and she's an "A" student taking honors and advanced-placement courses, according to her mom, Sherry. She is also on school student council and is active in the church youth group.

"We haven't had the TV turned on in our house many times in the last month," said Sherry Allen, who works in the Seven Rivers athletic department. "Our school is hard. She pretty much does homework until it's time to go to bed."

But she can always make time for volleyball, especially since the Warriors are one of the top teams in Class A this season. Plus, she can't handle a fall season without her favorite game.

Allen remembers sixth grade well, the last time she did not play volleyball.

During the summer she fell off a push scooter as she was riding down a hill. She broke her left arm so severely the bone was sticking out.

"All I could say was, 'My hand is falling off and I won't be able to play volleyball,' " she said last week after practice, showing off the three scars from the incident.

She missed the whole volleyball season, but still went to every practice. As her teammates trained, she would serve with her good hand. It was all she could do.

Her mother suspects Allen has not missed a volleyball practice throughout her high school career.

Why would she?

There is nowhere else she would rather be.

Brian Sumers can be reached at bsumers@sptimes.com or 564-3628.

[Last modified September 25, 2006, 22:47:35]